The Audiofly AF140 earphones are intended to be used primarily as onstage monitors for musicians, and deliver clear and balanced audio with strong, articulate bass.

Billed as in-ear monitors for stage musicians, but just as suitable for standard earphone usage, the Audiofly AF140 is a serious in-canal pair, and priced accordingly. At $349.99, the earphones look and feel well-built, and ship with a plethora of useful accessories. But do they sound good enough to warrant their price? The answer is tricky: Musicians seeking to save money on in-ear monitors could forgo the custom-molded route and be quite happy with the relative deal they get with the AF140—they're far less expensive than most custom monitors, and they sound great. Regular listeners who just wants an accurate, balanced mix can probably spend a bit less on a pair that includes an inline remote, and isn't specifically designed to stay in your ear no matter what happens on stage.

DesignFor an earphone pair that's all business, the AF140 somehow manages to not look boring—the black-and-gray styling is simple, but the cabling looks attractive and well-constructed. The AF140's earpieces are larger than many consumer-level earphones, but they're armed with a semi-moldable over-the-ear rubberized wire that helps with stabilizing the in-ear fit. Both wires then turn into thinly braided cables, until the cables from each ear join into a single clothbound wire, terminating in a 3.5mm connection. A 1/4-inch headphone jack adapter is included.

The secure fit of the AF140 is aided by probably the largest arsenal of eartips we've seen included with an earphone pair in some time—there are three pairs of Comply foam eartips (probably the best bet in terms of secure fit and sound isolation), three pairs of silicone eartips, and three pairs of flange-style eartips (all come in small, medium, and large sizes). Considering we've seen some expensive earphones ship with only two eartip pairs, nine is an impressive number. Add to this fact that if you register your earphones with Audiofly, the company will send you more replacement eartips, and it seems any AF140 owner should be set in this department.

The AF140 also ships with an airline jack adapter, an earpiece cleaning tool, and a nicely designed canvas-and-leather protective case. No one will accuse Audiofly of skimping on accessories, though at this price, some users may wish the company had opted to make the cable removable from the earpiece for easy replacement—and perhaps have included a replacement cable in that scenario. It's true that it's less common for earphones than over- or on-ear headphones to have removable cables, but professional-level monitors often do. As the AF140 is a musician's monitor first and foremost, there's understandably no remote control or a microphone for mobile calls.

PerformanceOn tracks with intense sub-bass, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the AF140 delivers thunderous lows with power and precision, and never sounds distorted even at higher, unwise volume levels. At moderate levels, the bass sounds full and rich, but is balanced out well by a strong high-frequency presence. Things do sound a bit sculpted, but musicians using these as onstage monitors will appreciate that the clarity of vocals doesn't come at the expense of robust bass response.

On tracks with less deep bass content, like Bill Callahan's "Drover," we get a better sense of the AF140's general sound signature. His baritone vocals get a pleasant richness to them, but the track never sounds muddy, thanks to the normal high-mid presence and sculpted highs. The drums on this track get a healthy amount of low-end, but they still sound natural and clean. This track showcases the AF140's excellent blend of deep, but natural, lows and bright, but never sibilant, highs.

It should be noted that much of the higher frequency presence seems to be more in the top high frequencies and less in the high-mids. On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," this is confirmed—the attack of the kick drum loop on this track often sounds sharper and edgier than it does here. You'd never call it dull through the AF140, but it seems to have less treble punch. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat here are delivered with solid depth, but nothing so over-the-top that they sound too boosted. The vocals on this track float over the mix cleanly, again, without any sibilance issues, and without sounding muffled.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound about as balanced as they can—the lower register instrumentation here is only very subtly boosted. The higher register strings, brass, and vocals have a pleasant brightness to them at certain moments, but are never too harsh or edgy in the high-mids. This is a very accurate sounding mix through the AF140—the frequencies that do receive a little extra boosting get a reasonable amount, and it only adds a touch of body and clarity to the proceedings.

The real question is who is the Audiofly AF140 for? If you're a musician looking for in-ear monitors, the AF140 is actually quite affordable compared with most custom-molded options out there. And if you're just looking for an earphone pair that delivers a balanced but robust mix of lows and bright highs, the AF140 is worth your consideration. That said, headphones like the Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 and the Westone W10 cost less and deliver similarly enjoyable audio performance. As for the onstage experience, consider one of our favorite in-ear custom-molded monitors, the Logitech Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitor, though they cost about three times as much. Ultimately, the AF140 is an excellent option for those musicians foregoing the custom-molded route.

Audiofly AF140

Audiofly AF140

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